Reflecting on the priesthood, I see my priestly calling as a gift given me not just 43 years ago at my baptism, but as the gift which I need to discover over and over again.
My baptismal name — Krzysztof — is the Polish version of Christopher. When I later learned that my name is derived from the ancient Greek Christophoros, it gave me not only something to reflect upon but a great love for the beautiful meaning it carries, “Christ-bearer.”
There is a special story attached to my name. My godfather has been always full of humor, no matter how serious the occasion might be. When he brought me to be baptized at Transfiguration Parish, he well knew what response he had to make during the ceremony. Yet when the priest who baptized me, Father Krzysztof Grzyb, asked him what the baby was to be named, my godfather jokingly replied, “Whatever your name is, Father.” So I have to say that my association with priesthood started very early.
And with a priest as a namesake, I was encouraged, even “destined,” by my parents to think about priesthood in my childhood. I was an altar server, lector, and eventually a cantor at the Sunday Masses. During elementary school, however, I had decided that I wanted to become an airline pilot.
When I was 14, my parents gave me permission to apply to a military high school to start training for that career. When the physical requirements proved too high and that dream came to an end, I entered technical school. There I met a great priest and catechist, Father Tymosz, whose personality and lifestyle encouraged me to think about priesthood.
I strongly believe that a vocation to the priesthood can grow only in a good environment. Without a good and supportive family and community of faith, it is almost impossible to become a priest. I suppose that many families today neglect the topics of faith that were such a blessing to me in my home. Luckily enough, my parents trusted God and prayed that one day I might become a priest.
A turning point occurred during my final year in high school when I began more seriously to discern a call to the priesthood. With the help of my catechist, I discovered another level of what the name “Christ-bearer” means. I saw that my life would make sense only when it bore the marks of Christ’s death and resurrection. After obtaining my technical diplomas and passing the so-called “maturity tests,” I began to prepare for the entrance examinations at the Catholic University in Lublin, Poland.
Having passed the exams and begun my philosophical years at the Catholic University, I happened to read an article that, strangely enough, my mother gave me about the state of vocations in the United States. The article was written by Father Flis in the “Przewodnik Katolicki,” or “Catholic Guide.” I began to discuss with my parents and reflect on a possible calling to this apostolate. Then, at a meeting in Czstochowa, Father Flis invited me to attend a retreat with the candidates to SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Mich. The rest is, as they say, history.
After completing my forth year of studies and obtaining letters of recommendation, I arrived at the seminary on American soil. During five years of theology at SS. Cyril and Methodius, I was sponsored by the Diocese of Fall River. I spent summer at the Cathedral Camp — which was full of wonderful experiences — and later I got a pastoral year assignment in Fall River. Then, two years later, I was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Sean O’Malley on June 10, 1995.
Being a priest for more than 14 years now has been quite an experience of finding meaning to my life and my faith. At one level, the sacramental life helps us to find meaning. Philosophically speaking, however, the more meaningful one’s life is, the greater the person’s existence. I have seen too many people ruin their lives because they’ve failed to find this meaning, either by lack of reflection in the light of the Gospel or simply because they undertook too many bad decisions.
These 14 years have been for me a real faith journey. At times there have been challenges, at times discouragement, and at other times the greatest joys, sitting in the confessional, baptizing a new person for Christ, or standing at the altar of God and being humbled and honored to bring the Eucharist to God’s people. Through me Christ says, “Take this all of you and eat it, this is my Body,” and, “Take this all of you and drink from it. This is the cup of my Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for you and for all so that sins might be forgiven. Do this in remembrance of me.”
My further studies at Weston Jesuit School of Theology have helped me to realize that the priesthood I celebrate is not mine. It was a priesthood that was fostered in that little 17th-century Church of the Transfiguration in Poland where I grew up. So I thank God for my family and friends who supported me through those years in this great calling.
Father Stanibula is a parochial vicar at St. Anne’s Parish, Fall River.